Is the chant ‘globalize the intifada’ a call for violence against Jews?
There are people who claim they have a right to chant ‘globalize the intifada’ and to stop them is an infringement of free speech.
Now, the truth is that free speech is never 100% free.
For instance, there are laws against defamation—as there should be.
If you slander and defame someone it is no defence to claim you are just exercising your right to free speech.
So there are limitations.
And one of those limitations is that free speech does not include calling for violence.
So, does ‘globalize the intifada’ call for violence?
The notoriously angry Grace Tame spoke at a rally in Sydney where she spat out the words: ‘From Gadigal to Gaza, globalize the intifada.’
When there were protests at how outrageous her call was, she claimed the word ‘intifada’ simply means ‘shaking off.’
Is she right?
Well, ‘intifada’ came into English from Arabic in 1985.
That was the first year it appeared in print in English (in the Los Angeles Times in September of that year).
The word ‘intifada’ has been constructed out of an Arabic source word ‘nafada.’
That source word means ‘shaking off.’
But that’s definitely not what the full word ‘intifada’ means.
The Oxford English Dictionary says ‘intifada’ means ‘rebellion or uprising.’
Historically (starting from the 1980s) the first and second ‘intifadas’ targeted Israel with Molotov cocktails and suicide bombings.
The Second ‘Intifada’ in particular targeted Israeli civilians with violence.
Just like the shooting murders of 15 at Bondi.
The shooters are alleged to have targeted Jews who were not only civilians, they were not even in Israel.
That is what ‘globalise the intifada’ really means.
And Grace Tame and her friends cannot squirm out from under that linguistic truth.
Did you see "Quizzical" (the new Sky News quiz show) last night? It was great fun, and the team I was on (the Lucy Zelic team) won! If you missed it, you can stream it and catch up. And then -- give me some feedback. How do you think it went? Give it a score out of ten. I'd love to hear from you.
TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER SCROLL FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE >>>>>>
BOOKS:
* My latest book is called Pray Like This. To look at prayer I do what I do in these Ozword columns: I go through the most famous prayer in the world (The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father) and unpack it word by word—each chapter being a short word-study on a key word in that prayer. There is a total of 21 words studies in all. To find out more, here’s a link to the publisher’s website (where you can buy a copy if you wish): Pray Like This – matthiasmedia.com.au
* My book is Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries -- containing 50 new stories I have written about the great detective. You can find it on Amazon. Just go to Amazon and type in Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries in the search panel. Or use this link: h Amazon.com.au : Sherlock Holmes 5-Minute Mysteries Kel Richards
* My book "Defending the Gospel" is now in a second, fully revised, edition. You can find it here: Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au
* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here -- Flash Jim, The astonis
hing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia's first dictionary by Kel Richards | 9781460759769 | Booktopia
* You can find all Kel's books currently in print here -- Booktopia Search Results for 'kel richards'. We sell books, hardback, paperback, audio, CDs.
* And also here -- Amazon.com.au : Kel Richards
* And you'll find more here -- Search: 4 results found for "Kel Richards" – matthiasmedia.com.au
* Many of Kel's out of print books can be found at ABE Books -- Kel Richards - AbeBooks explaining words explain the term
BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
